The Grassfields languages (or Wide Grassfields languages) are a branch of the
Southern Bantoid
Southern Bantoid (or South Bantoid) is a branch of the Bantoid language family. It consists of the Bantu languages along with several small branches and isolates of eastern Nigeria and west-central Cameroon (though the affiliation of some branc ...
languages spoken in the
Western High Plateau
The Western High Plateau, Western Highlands or Bamenda Grassfields is a region of Cameroon characterised by high relief, cool temperatures, heavy rainfall and savanna vegetation. The region lies along the Cameroon line and consists of mounta ...
of
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and some parts of
Taraba state
)
, image_map = Nigeria - Taraba.svg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Location of Taraba State in Nigeria
, coordinates =
, coor_pinpoint =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. Better known Grassfields languages include the
Eastern Grassfields languages Bamun,
Yamba and the
Ring language,
Kom
Kom or KOM may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Kom people (Afghanistan), a Nuristani tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan
* Kom people (Cameroon), an ethnic group of northwest Cameroon
* Kom people (India) a subgroup of the Kuki in north-eastern India
* ...
,
Nso,
Oku,
Bali,
Bafut. Almost all of these languages are closely related, sharing approximately half of their vocabulary.
Classifications
The Grassfields languages were previously known as ''Grassfields Bantu'' and ''Semi-Bantu.'' They are sometimes classified on two levels, ''Wide Grassfields,'' which includes all the languages, and ''Narrow Grassfields,'' which excludes
Menchum
Menchum is a department of Northwest Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4469 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 161,998. The capital of the department lies at Wum.
The Menchum River drains this area, flowing we ...
,
Ambele and sometimes the
Southwest Grassfields languages
The Southwest Grassfields, traditionally called Western Momo when considered part of the Momo group or when Momo is included in Grassfields, are a small branch of the Southern Bantoid languages spoken in the Western grassfields of Cameroon
...
. These may form a group of their own, which Nurse (2003) calls Peripheral Grassfields but rejects.
Blench (2010) notes there is little evidence for the traditional assumption that the non-Western
Momo languages
The Momo languages are a group of Grassfields languages spoken in the Western High Plateau of Cameroon.
The languages are:
: Meta' (Moghamo)– Ngamambo, Mundani, Ngie (Mengum), Ngoshie, Ngwo
Ngwo is a town located in the south-eastern sta ...
belong in Grassfields and that they may actually be closer to the poorly established
Tivoid group; Western Momo is therefore renamed Southwest Grassfields to avoid confusion, and only Menchum and Ambele are left out of Narrow Grassfields. The classification of Amebele is unclear, though it is clearly divergent, and Menchum may be closer to the
Tivoid languages
The Tivoid languages are a branch of the Southern Bantoid languages spoken in parts of Nigeria and Cameroon. The subfamily takes its name after Tiv, the most spoken language in the group.
The majority are threatened with extinction. The largest ...
(Blench 2011). Blench (2012) suggests that
Western Beboid
The Beboid languages are any of several groups of languages spoken principally in southwest Cameroon, although two languages (Bukwen and Mashi) are spoken over the border in Nigeria. They are probably not most closely related to each other. The E ...
may belong in Grassfields. Blench (2010b) adds
Momo
Momo may refer to:
Geography
* Momo (department), a division of Northwest Province in Cameroon
* Momo, Gabon, a town in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon
* Momo, Piedmont, a town in the province of Novara, in northern Italy
* Joffrey Tower, in ...
as a Narrow Grassfields subgroup.
*Narrow Grassfields
**
Ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
(Ring Road)
**
Eastern Grassfields (Mbam–Nkam)
**
Momo
Momo may refer to:
Geography
* Momo (department), a division of Northwest Province in Cameroon
* Momo, Gabon, a town in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon
* Momo, Piedmont, a town in the province of Novara, in northern Italy
* Joffrey Tower, in ...
**? ''
Ndemli''
**
Southwest Grassfields (previously Western Momo)
*? ''
Ambele''
*? ''
Menchum
Menchum is a department of Northwest Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4469 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 161,998. The capital of the department lies at Wum.
The Menchum River drains this area, flowing we ...
'' (Befang)
*?
Western Beboid
The Beboid languages are any of several groups of languages spoken principally in southwest Cameroon, although two languages (Bukwen and Mashi) are spoken over the border in Nigeria. They are probably not most closely related to each other. The E ...
Viti (Vötö) is unclassified Narrow Grassfields.
The Eastern Grassfields languages share nasal
noun-class
In linguistics, a noun class is a particular category of nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of the characteristic features of its referent, such as gender, animacy, shape, but such designations are often clearly conventional. Some a ...
prefixes with the
Bantu languages, which are not found in the other branches of Grassfields. However, they appear to be more closely related to the rest of Grassfields than they are to Bantu.
Names and locations (Nigeria)
Below is a list of Grassfields language names, populations, and locations (in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
only) from Blench (2019).
See also
*
List of Proto-Grassfields reconstructions (Wiktionary)
References
External links
ComparaLex database with Grassfields word lists
Journal of West African Languages: Grassfields Bantu (archived on 18 August 2014)*
Proto-Grassfields reconstructions
{{Niger-Congo branches
Languages of Cameroon
Southern Bantoid languages